MMC Benefits Handbook
Limited Time Benefit Offer in 2023
Terms of the Limited Time Benefit Offer in 2023
If you were eligible for the Limited Time Benefit Offer in 2023 (Offer), you had the option to voluntarily elect to receive your Accrued Benefit as a single sum or an immediate monthly annuity effective October 1, 2023. If you were eligible, you received a communication not more than 90 days prior to October 1, 2023 which described the terms of the Offer and included information with respect to benefit amounts you might have been eligible to receive as well as instructions on how to apply for a benefit under the Offer.
To elect a benefit under the Offer, you needed to submit an election form during the Special Election Period. The Special Election Period began on August 1, 2023 and ended October 3, 2023. If your election was made online, it needed to be submitted by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on October 3, 2023, or if you chose to use a paper form, it needed to be postmarked no later than October 3, 2023. However, if your address of record as of September 20, 2023 was in Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Vermont and you had not submitted an election by October 3, 2023, your election needed to be submitted by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on October 17, 2023 if your election was online, or if you chose to use a paper form, it needed to be received by no later than October 17, 2023.
Generally, if you submitted an election form by October 3, 2023, you had until that date to either revoke your election or change the form of payment you elected. This revocation or election change deadline applied to all participants including those for whom the October 17, 2023 Offer election deadline applied. This meant that any election received after October 1, 2023 could not be revoked or changed. In all cases, however, any election received on or before your Special Election Deadline (October 3rd or October 17th, as applicable) became null and void if the Plan administrator determined the election and all required documentation were not in good order and you failed to cure any and all deficiencies by October 17, 2023.
If you were eligible for the Offer but did not submit your election form and all required documentation by the end of the applicable Special Election Period (or if your election was revoked, or it became null and void as described above), your monthly benefit will commence pursuant to the Marsh & McLennan Companies Retirement Plan's standard provisions. See "When Benefits Commence" for details.
You were eligible for the Limited Time Benefit Offer if you:
- were a Participant who terminated employment before April 1, 2023, and
- had a vested benefit in the Plan and were not yet receiving your Plan benefit as of July 1, 2023 (including in-service benefit payments available under the terms of the Plan).
You were not eligible for the Limited Time Benefit Offer if you were a Participant who:
- was receiving your monthly Plan benefit as of July 1, 2023 (including in-service benefit payments available under the terms of the Plan),
- had terminated on or after April 1, 2023,
- had been rehired by a participating company or non-participating company and were an active employee on or after April 1, 2023,
- was on a leave of absence, Long Term Disability or Short Term Disability on or after April 1, 2023,
- had a Plan benefit that was linked to a benefit accrued before January 1, 2005 under a non-qualified plan, such as the Marsh & McLennan Companies Benefit Equalization Plan and Marsh & McLennan Companies Supplemental Retirement Plan or had accrued non-qualified benefits under an acquired company's plans, such as the Johnson & Higgins Pension Excess Benefit Plan or the Sedgwick Excess Retirement Plan,
- had attained age 70-1/2 in 2022 or earlier,
- had a Plan benefit, either as a participant or as an alternate payee that was subject to a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) before the end of the Special Election Period,
- had a Plan benefit as the survivor of a deceased participant,
- had a valid lien or tax levy on your Plan benefit,
- had a benefit attributable to the Sedgwick Retirement Plan with a lump sum Present Value that was $20,000 or less on July 1, 2023,
- had a vested Accrued Benefit under the Plan whose Present Value as of July 1, 2023 was less than $1,000, or
- elected to commence your Plan benefit effective August 1, 2023 or September 1, 2023 and did not affirmatively cancel such election prior to the Benefit Commencement Date you selected.
Benefit Forms Available Under the Offer Commencing October 1, 2023
The benefit options available to you under the Offer were contingent upon your marital status and your age on October 1, 2023 as follows:
If you were not yet age 55 and had a Spouse on October 1, 2023 you had the following benefit options under the Offer:
- a lump sum payment of the Present Value of your Accrued Benefit
- a 50% contingent annuity with your Spouse named as the designated survivor
- a 75% contingent annuity with your Spouse named as the designated survivor
- a single life annuity
You needed to obtain your Spouse's written, notarized consent before you could elect either a lump sum payment or the single life annuity form of payment.
If you were not yet age 55 and did not have a Spouse on October 1, 2023, you had the following benefit options under the Offer:
If you were age 55 or older and had a Spouse on October 1, 2023, you had the following benefit options under the Offer:
- a lump sum payment of the Present Value of your Accrued Benefit
- any form of benefit payable under the Plan (See "How Benefits are Paid" for details.)
If you did not elect a contingent annuity naming your Spouse as the designated survivor, you needed to obtain your Spouse's written, notarized consent.
If you were age 55 or older and did not have a Spouse on October 1, 2023, you had the following benefit options under the Offer:
- a lump sum payment of the Present Value of your Accrued Benefit
- any form of benefit payable under the Plan (See "How Benefits are Paid" for details.)
Calculation of Annuity Payment Amounts
Pre-age 55:
If you were not age 55 on October 1, 2023 and elected an annuity benefit, your monthly benefit amount was your Accrued Benefit at your Normal Retirement Date, actuarially reduced to reflect your actual age on October 1, 2023. The reduction that was applied was:
- 0.5% per month for each month between ages 65 and 55 (a 60% reduction), plus
- an additional reduction based on Internal Revenue Service – specified actuarial factors under Code section 417(e) for each month that October 1, 2023 precedes the first day of the month coincident with or next following your 55th birthday.
Age 55 or older but before your Normal Retirement Date:
If you were age 55 but had not attained your Normal Retirement Date prior to October 1, 2023 and elected an annuity benefit, your annuity amount was your Accrued Benefit as of your Normal Retirement Date reduced pursuant to the Plan's early reduction factors as applicable to your date of birth, the date you left the Company, and your age when you left the Company.
At your Normal Retirement Date or Older:
If you were age 65 or older on October 1, 2023 and elected an annuity benefit, your annuity amount was your Accrued Benefit as of your Normal Retirement Date (or termination of employment, if later), actuarially increased for any payment delay after your termination of employment.
Calculation of Lump Sum Payment Amounts:
Pre-age 55:
If you were not age 55 on October 1, 2023 and elected a lump sum payment, your lump sum payment represented the actuarial Present Value of your Accrued Benefit (i.e., a single life annuity commencing at your Normal Retirement Date).
At Age 55 or older but before Normal Retirement Date:
If you were age 55 but had not attained your Normal Retirement date before October 1, 2023 and elected a lump sum payment, your lump sum payment represented the actuarial Present Value of your Accrued Benefit (i.e., a single life annuity commencing at your Normal Retirement Date).
At Your Normal Retirement Date or older:
If you attained your Normal Retirement Date before October 1, 2023 and elected a lump sum payment, your lump sum benefit amount represented the actuarial Present Value of a single life annuity commencing on October 1, 2023.
Death Benefit Under the Offer
Death Before the Payment of a Lump Sum Distribution:
If you were not married and your death occurred prior to the distribution of an elected lump sum payment, the lump sum payment was paid to your estate. If you were married and your death occurred prior to the distribution of your elected lump sum payment, the lump sum payment was distributed to your Spouse.
Death Prior to October 1, 2023 if You Elected an Annuity:
If you elected an annuity and your death occurred prior to October 1, 2023, a death benefit became payable to your Eligible Survivor, if any. See "Death Benefits" for details.
Timing of Payment:
- If you elected a lump sum payment under the Offer, your payment was made as soon as was administratively possible after October 1, 2023. If you took your benefit as a lump sum payment, you will have received your entire Accrued Benefit from the Plan and are no longer eligible for any additional benefits under the Plan.
- If you elected an annuity under the Offer, your monthly benefit commenced effective October 1, 2023.